Question from Mary
Hi Debra,
I have been buying cotton sheets, etc., from The Company Store catalog for 10-15 years. I believe I initally learned about the store from one of your books. My experience with shopping from the catalog has always been positive. Not so the website.
In May I placed an order online and at check out there was an offer for coupon for saving money on my next order. I next remember receiving a coupon from Complete Savings by email. About that time I also noticed that I began receiving between 25 and 50 spam emails a day, whereas I had been getting about 3.
Two days ago I received my credit card bill and there was a $12 charge from Complete Savings. My assistant contacted both firms by telephone. They said I had agreed to a monthly charge of $12 but they would cancel it and refund the $12. Their story of how this all happened did not check out with what I recall.
So I ordered an $8 towel online so I could see how this happened. Once you choose a coupon (rather than “no thank you”) you go to a long webpage at the Complete Savings.com website and it already has your credit card number. If you read the very small print, and this would print out to be a couple of pages, except that I couldn’t make it print out, you find you have agreed to a monthly charge for a membership.
I was probably in a hurry at the time of the first order, but I do not remember seeing anything like this page, so I wonder if first time orders are different.
Debra’s Answer
Readers, please note that this post is not about the quality of product or customer service of the website mentioned, but a widespread practice of adding another offer at the end of your order.
I approved it for posting because I have gone through this myself and want to alert you about it.
When you get to the end of your order and are offered these savings coupons or similar offers, resist temptation and just click through to complete your order. They are buying clubs that don’t sell green products. They will charge your credit card every month until you cancel.
I’m not talking about when a company gives you an offer to buy another of their own products as you are completing an order, but when you are given an offer that takes you outside the realm of the company. Just read it carefully.
